Digital multimedia players are well known in the art of electronics engineering as devices that convert digital data into streaming video or audio to be played on a TV set or in a stereo system.
Portable storage devices (PSDs) that are equipped with a programmable controller are able to input a digital file containing a multimedia item, convert the file into streaming media, and output the media stream into a playing device. Whereas large storage devices, such as a personal computer or a TV set-top box, have a connector for inputting digital data and another connector for sending media streams to an output device and therefore can handle such tasks, small PSDs typically cannot accommodate two connectors due to their small size.
It would be very desirable to invent a system that allows a small PSD to have a single connector at its bow that will be used both for inputting digital files and for outputting streaming media. It will be even more desirable to invent such as system that will automatically recognize which of the two functions is being used, and will adjust the protocol of the communication with the port accordingly.